Lunges??

[cobracock1979]

Hola,

Im trying to build up my chicken legs. Ive only been seriously squatting for 3.5 months but have made serious weight improvements + LBM gains.

Im pretty much only squatting 5x5 and finishing with leg presses, every 4/5 days.

My glutes have always been under developed and its a main goal of mine to build them up.

What do bro's think of barbell/dumbell lunges? Serious mass builder or not?

How can I incorporate it into my squat routine without detracting from the squats? Or...just keep it simple and stick with the squats for now...???

Thanks

 

[joe d]

Do squats first then barbell lunges as a finisher.

 

[cobracock1979]

Do lunges mainly recruit the quads or glutes? Im really looking to hit glutes, quads are secondary

 

[joe d]

it depends on how low you go. try them out and see what you can do. the bigger you step the more glutes you get. but your squats should cover that go deep.

 

[EZ_E]

The great thing about squats is that they will work the whole leg, quads, hams, glutes.

Try doing this; go into the basketball court or somewhere similar. Take a step fwd as far as possible while still balancing and lunge. B4 picking up that back foot lunge again. So you're lunging twice. Then pick up the back foot and step fwd again. Go wall to wall, you'll feel it in the whole leg...

(do this after squats or presses)

 

[dabuffguy]

Drop the weight in your sqauts a bit and go deep ATG for 10-15 reps per set for a while.

For trying to build up muscle size, I find that 5 rep sets on squats sucks balls vs 10-15 reps. Get a large range of motion all the way down, all the way up.


If you want glutes, doing deadlifts is your best bet. My ass gets extremely sore after doing deadlifts. Drive through your heels hard, and your ass will get plenty of size.

 

[Jocques Straap]

Lunges are great! IMHO, it is one the best exercise for "heath" goals. Not a great mass builder.

If you're looking for glute involvement, try walking lunges or alternating reverse lunges, once you are in the down position, focus on driving through your heel on your lead leg with your glutes to push yourself out of the lunge. Alternatively, the more you are on your toe, the more the quads will be involved.

Keep your head up, big step, keep your shoulders back, and your torso vertical, don't be leaning over your front side.

Barbell, Dumbbell, it's all good. DB's are more convenient, and holding them at your side my be better for your shoulders and back, but if you have punny little forearms and can't hold the weight then use a bar. It's primarily a leg exercise, so don't sacrifice weight, do heavy. But make sure your form is good. - oh, if you aren't keeping your knees inline, or straight, over your foot, then you may as well not do them. Also, watch for a lazy back foot. Stay up high on the back toe, directed forward, to very slightly out.

Also, try wide grip bar, Romanian Deadlifts (RDL) - start with the bar on the pins about waist hight, grasp the bar with a very wide grip, with a slight bend in the kness, perform a deadlift, while maintaining your knee slight knee angle. don't over extend on the bottom Range of motion, stop before your back rounds. You should feel a good stretch on the hamstrings, and focus on contracting the glutes on the way up.

 

[OneBreath]

it depends on how low you go. try them out and see what you can do. the bigger you step the more glutes you get. but your squats should cover that go deep.

oh yeah, step looooong and don't do those pussy step out and step back to the same spot shit. Walking lunges is the way to go. Step way out, deep, then come up almost like your marching (working leg nearly extended, alternating leg coming up like you are going to knee yourself in the face, pause, then stepping way out.

If you do them with dbs use wrist straps. Fuck what people say. You are working your fucking legs and you don't want your grip sending signals to your brain that you are tired when you really have a few more steps in you.

Better than dbs is the walking barbell lunge. But you have to have a lot of room for that.

Do a few sets of walking lunges after your squats. You should be soaked with sweat and heart ready to rip out of your chest. Next day you'll be limping. Eat lots of food afterward.

 

[timtim]

oh yeah, step looooong and don't do those pussy step out and step back to the same spot shit. Walking lunges is the way to go. Step way out, deep, then come up almost like your marching (working leg nearly extended, alternating leg coming up like you are going to knee yourself in the face, pause, then stepping way out.

If you do them with dbs use wrist straps. Fuck what people say. You are working your fucking legs and you don't want your grip sending signals to your brain that you are tired when you really have a few more steps in you.

Better than dbs is the walking barbell lunge. But you have to have a lot of room for that.

Do a few sets of walking lunges after your squats. You should be soaked with sweat and heart ready to rip out of your chest. Next day you'll be limping. Eat lots of food afterward.

that pussy exercise carves out lines in your quads and tear drop. its a great quad exercise.

as for the grip, weak grip means weak lifts. no better time to train the auxillary muscles than when you need them.

 

[desmond]

Some people have "sleepy" glutes, and difficulty using them because of tight hip flexors and sitting all day (which stretches and relaxes the glutes)./

You could try some dynamic stretching pre-wrokout and other glute activation exercises: see this T nation articles

T-Nation.com | Get Your Butt In Gear! - Part 1
T-Nation.com | Get Your Butt In Gear! - Part 2
T-Nation.com | Glute Training for Dudes

I think rearward static lunges are a fantastic glute exercise, in terms of being very glute dominant.
Personally, I find RDL's > conventional deadlift for glute exercise, simnply because in the latter, back strength will limit the weight. RDL's are almost the quintessential hip extension exercise - the perfect glute/hamstring exercise

 

[OneBreath]

that pussy exercise carves out lines in your quads and tear drop. its a great quad exercise.

as for the grip, weak grip means weak lifts. no better time to train the auxillary muscles than when you need them.

Does any exercise really "carve out lines"?

For the grip, my legs are stronger than my grip, thank god, not by much but some

 

[cobracock1979]

I had an accident squatting last night wihich involved me dropping a bar weighing 480 lbs and nearly hurting a lotta folk. That was embarrassing but at least I did a PB on my 5rm!

Last 2 sets on my 5x5 generally go only slightly below parrallel but this shoud be rectified as I grow in strength, right now I wanna shock my quads. I think Ill finish with a light dropset at the end (ass2grass) to faliur. Maybe leave the lunges till my legs are bigger

 

[dabuffguy]

I had an accident squatting last night wihich involved me dropping a bar weighing 480 lbs and nearly hurting a lotta folk. That was embarrassing but at least I did a PB on my 5rm!

Last 2 sets on my 5x5 generally go only slightly below parrallel but this shoud be rectified as I grow in strength, right now I wanna shock my quads. I think Ill finish with a light dropset at the end (ass2grass) to faliur. Maybe leave the lunges till my legs are bigger

I'm suggesting for growth bro, switch to more reps per set for a few weeks, like 5-6. Do 10-15 reps for 4 sets instead of 5x5 and go deep with a weight tha makes that 10-15 reps push you to failure. The reason I am repeating it is because if you want to "shock" your mucles, switching rep ranges will do it. Continuing to do 5x5 with a drop set at the end is a change, but an over all high rep range will give your muscles a whole different experience and I believe will give you much greater hypertrophy/muscle growth.

If you are doing 480lbs for 5, then your legs are damn strong already. A 5-6 week phase with emphasis on hypertrophy will give you more muscle size to get stronger with your next time you switch back to 5X5.


That's my .02.

 

[SouthernLord]

Wide stance box squats will really do a number on your hips and glutes.

Walking lunges are great as mentioned, but I always feel as if my knees are going to sheer off when doing them. Reverse lunges are my prevered lunge exercise.

Also when doing DLs and DL variations think about raising your big toe on the concentric. Believe it or not as stupid as that seems it will help for your glutes to fire.

 

[joe d]

I had an accident squatting last night wihich involved me dropping a bar weighing 480 lbs and nearly hurting a lotta folk. That was embarrassing but at least I did a PB on my 5rm!

Last 2 sets on my 5x5 generally go only slightly below parrallel but this shoud be rectified as I grow in strength, right now I wanna shock my quads. I think Ill finish with a light dropset at the end (ass2grass) to faliur. Maybe leave the lunges till my legs are bigger

if you want your legs to grow throw in some widdow makers. at least try it a few times. the concept of low rep isnt always as effective for lower body as it is for upper.

 

[cobracock1979]

if you want your legs to grow throw in some widdow makers. at least try it a few times. the concept of low rep isnt always as effective for lower body as it is for upper.

Thanks Bro's

Joe D - I started out my squat carrer with 6 weeks of widowmakers - I would recommend it to anyone.

 

[dabuffguy]

if you want your legs to grow throw in some widdow makers. at least try it a few times. the concept of low rep isnt always as effective for lower body as it is for upper.

Yes.


For power and strength low rep is great. For pure growth/size, 10-15 rep sets are fantastic. Getting a really full pump from more reps helps flush blood & nutrients into those muscles. It's a great felling for me to have super pumped quads.

 

[ironwings]

Wide stance box squats will really do a number on your hips and glutes.

Walking lunges are great as mentioned, but I always feel as if my knees are going to sheer off when doing them. Reverse lunges are my prevered lunge exercise.

Also when doing DLs and DL variations think about raising your big toe on the concentric. Believe it or not as stupid as that seems it will help for your glutes to fire.

Static lunges can be powerful if done dynamically. Whether they are rear, front, or side - push up out of the lower stance like your going to shoot through the air. If you want to add an extra little challenge with rear or front - bring the pushing leg up into a knee raise - never let it hit the ground coming up. Oooooowwaaaa

And yes, straps. The focus is on your legs and glutes (although I think barbell stepups are the king of glute exercises - not lunges). There are plenty of other opportunities to work on a weak grip (weak compared to your legs

 

[SouthernLord]

Static lunges can be powerful if done dynamically. Whether they are rear, front, or side - push up out of the lower stance like your going to shoot through the air. If you want to add an extra little challenge with rear or front - bring the pushing leg up into a knee raise - never let it hit the ground coming up. Oooooowwaaaa

And yes, straps. The focus is on your legs and glutes (although I think barbell stepups are the king of glute exercises - not lunges). There are plenty of other opportunities to work on a weak grip (weak compared to your legs

Admittedly I have never done step ups. I have always wanted to do them, but never felt safe stepping up on to a soft padded bench.

Bulgarian Split Squats kill my glutes as well. Along with my abductors too. If your really hard core after your BSS's drop the dbs and do unweighted BSS jumps. Ouch. Plyos are not fun.

 

[ironwings]

Admittedly I have never done step ups. I have always wanted to do them, but never felt safe stepping up on to a soft padded bench.

Bulgarian Split Squats kill my glutes as well. Along with my abductors too. If your really hard core after your BSS's drop the dbs and do unweighted BSS jumps. Ouch. Plyos are not fun.

Sometimes I take off my shoes

I just added split squats with weight to my program. I know I look like a wimp, I swear they kill me. Plyos are so fun, almost as fun as complexes!